- Gina Miller rose to prominence successfully challenging the PM on Article 50
- She has threatened a new legal action over the Conservatives deal with the DUP
- Miller said there are grounds for a judicial review because there was no MP vote
Remain campaigner Gina Miller has threatened a new court challenge to ministers over the deal with the DUP to spend an extra £1billion in Northern Ireland.
The businesswoman and former model claims the Government failed to follow the proper process when it signed a confidence and supply deal with the Ulster party.
Ms Miller – who rose to prominence successfully challenging Theresa May’s power to invoke Article 50 and start Brexit – insists there should have a Commons vote.
Remain campaigner Gina Miller (pictured today on ITV) has launched a new court challenge to ministers over the deal with the DUP to spend an extra £1billion in Northern Ireland
The businesswoman and former model claims the Government failed to follow the proper process when it signed a confidence and supply deal with the Ulster party
The campaigner sent a letter to ministers last year warning she would contest any payments without a vote.
And today Ms Miller told ITV’s Robert Peston she had learned two chunks of cash have been allocated to Northern Ireland without a decision by MPs.
She told Peston: ‘We sent a letter to the government asking them if they were going to put this through Parliament.
‘A letter came back from them saying yes, you’re absolutely right, there needs to be a vote in Parliament.
‘And yet we have found out that there have been two payments that have gone through.’
Ms Miller – who rose to prominence successfully challenging Theresa May’s power to invoke Article 50 and start Brexit (she is pictured outside the Supreme Court last year) – insists there should have a Commons vote
Ms Miller said the Government was claiming it could call votes retrospectively.
But she added: ‘It’s not gone through the proper channels and constitutionally they have no powers to do this.
‘And so I’m challenging saying it’s not about the payment, it’s the way you are doing this.
‘Time and time again there are examples of the government trying to bypass Parliament.’
Ms Miller said she expected an answer to the latest letter this week after she told ministers she felt they were acting ‘ulra vires’ – meaning outside their powers.
She said: ‘If it comes back and they say that they’ve done this and they can’t give us the assurances we are asking for in the letter that there’ll be a full vote in Parliament for the rest of the money, then we will ask for a judicial review.’